Hi

I will be riding the Bealach Mor this September, which is a 90 mile ride with a fair bit of climbing, one of which is 22 percent.

The last sportive I did was on a slicked up and rigid mtb, but for this one I am experiencing peer pressure to conform and get a road bike.

A year or so ago I rode a 56cm Genesis Equilibrium (I am 5ft 10, 32 leg, normal proportions!), and a Salsa La Cruz cross bike.

The other day I also tried a Genesis Vapour disc, an alloy Cannondale CAAD8, an alloy Cannodale Synapse, and a carbon Focus Cayo.

I found the Equilibrium a comfortable ride but the steering seemed a little slow, probably as both my mtbs are XC oriented and I also commute on my twitchy Birdy folder, so they all steer quickly.

The Salsa felt like a boat, I think it was pretty slack. I took it on the grass but it still didn’t grab me.

The Genesis Vapour also didn’t grab me, but more so than the Salsa – it had a bit of toe overlap, uninspiring tiagra shifters, and was not too light even though it was alloy.

The alloy Cannondale CADD8 felt pretty good and not as harsh as I thought it might be – I was a little more stretched than I would like possibly and was wondering about trying a 54cm frame.

The Focus seemed very stiff and not suitable for a sportive.

The alloy Cannondale Synapse was surprisingly comfortable, even with a bit of zing/spring if you dropped it on its wheels. Cockpit was shorter, and it is a little more upright than the CAAD8.

Both the Cannondales accelerated well and were therefore fun.

Tomorrow I am going to try the Equilibrium again.

I haven’t yet tried a Giant Defy yet.

Anybody got any advice before I take the plunge:

1. should I favour the Equilibrium over the alloy Synapse for ride quality, even if I upgrade the wheels on the Synapse?
2. should I favour a carbon Synapse over all of them?
3. is a compact with 11/28 ok for lots of climbing and a 22 % climb, or should I go for an Apex groupset with 11-32 (I like to spin more than stand, or at least alternate)?
4. should I bother looking at the giant defy?

I initially thought about a cross bike, and maybe building up a Crosslight Pro6, but I think a proper road bike might be better for making road biking less ‘boring’, as people have suggested here.

The Equilibriums are in short supply (otherwise I would build it) and would come from Ea=vans probably – so advice on fit may or may not be OK.

The Cannondales would probably be from Swift cycles near Liverpool Street in London – and will get there top fitting service, which is nice. The staff there seem pretty knowledgeable and keen, in contrast to the chains.

1. Why? You’ve said you didn’t like it?
2-4 sorry, dunno

Someone passed me on the dartmoor classic a few weeks back on a brompton

Run what you brung…

LOL passed on a Brompton!

3. I got Apex 11-32 for just that reason (I try not to use the big cogs it but it’s nice having the option) but I think the 105 rear mech has just been changed (5700 to 5701?) to take a 32 tooth sprocket

I’d give the defy a look, they always seem to get good reviews, some of the treks also look good, their new fancy domane bikes look are designed for comfort and the alloy ones look reasonably priced.

1. Why? You’ve said you didn’t like it?

Thought I would give the equilibrium another go as I might have just been unused to the bigger wheels then and this year, after having tried the other bikes, it might not seem so strange.

Plus the slower steering might actually be a good thing – although the Synapse had quicker steering it might not be so good at speed on the road.

Plus there is more seattube showing on the Equilibrium, and I think it is 27.2, so I could use my USE titanium post as well which has a bit of spring in it.

You haven’t said what your budget is?

Ignore sportive/race etc. A road bike is a road bike, the important thing is to get one that fits. If you are long legged short bodied a “sportive” bike, i.e. longer head tube might make sense, but if your short leg long body then having a long head tube might make it harder to get into a descent tuck should you want to.

Toe overlap is a fact of life, depends on how big your feet are and the front end of the bike, as long as it isn’t stupid you will rarely encounter it, how often do you steer that tightly on a road bike?

Set a budget, go into a shop see what fits, see what looks nice and go with it. And when i say fit i am not for a moment suggesting getting fitted, because IMO it is crap, fit is personal, it depends on your flexibility, your muscles, bones, shape, what you intend to do, how long, how far etc.

22% isn’t that hard, i am not saying it is easy, just not that hard. I am not the strongest of riders and can get a 39/23 up a 25% hill, If the climbs are sustained and the wrong side of 25% then i would say get low gears, if they are less than 20% with the odd spike then what comes on the bike should be fine, but you will only find out by riding.

As for the gears get the shifters you like, be it shimano, sram or campag, they all feel different and seem to fit in the hand differently.

the genesis is very ponderous i didn’t like it at all when test rode it.
the cannondales have a good rep, maybe change the stem for a longer one on the CAAD8 for a longer one.

wouldn’t worry about the 22% unless you are a pie eater it shouldn’t be an issue, a standard compact with 12-25 would be ideal, the nodder gear set-up may sound attractive but i wouldn’t be surprised if you would end up changing it as you get fitter from riding on the road.

Jesus 39/23 up a 25% hill, can I buy your legs please??

the genesis is very ponderous i didn’t like it at all when test rode it.

that is the impression I had from the first ride. Maybe I was right. Lots of people seem to love them though which is why I thought I would give it another go.

If you want a low gear get a low gear. I think they make total sense. I really don’t get the roady thing about I got up the hill on this gear so should you thing.

If a pro needs 39 25 to get up a hill then you either need

1. to go up the hill the same speed as them (brilliant if you can do it)
2. cycle at the wrong cadence
3. get off and walk
4. fit a lower gear so you can go slower at the correct cadence

Apparently almost everyone walks up the hills on the Fred Whitton. That means almost everyone has the wrong gears IMHO

Jesus 39/23 up a 25% hill, can I buy your legs please??

it’s no biggie for any reasonably fit cyclist, i’m not a strong rider by any means but used to ride 72in fixed on the road and never had any problems on ‘normal’ hills and only had to get off once. (on a 22% hill 😀 )

Apparently almost everyone walks up the hills on the Fred Whitton

No they don’t.

Jesus 39/23 up a 25% hill, can I buy your legs please??

The problem a lot of MTB riders have is giving up, if you see a hill do not get off, do not walk, in fact i would suggest don’t change gear unless you have to. Learn to embrace the burn in your legs, it is what makes you stronger.

Not saying getting that gear up a hill is easy/sensible etc. But you don’t give up and you would be surprised what your head can make your legs do. Now 39/23 up a hill topping out at 30% that was a stupid idea and put me on my arse, literally!

I love the steering on my Equilibrium, it is slower than my plastic wonderbike but it just descends so confidently and requires less concentration when you are tired. Whilst it rides comfortably with narrow rubber, mine currently has 28c tyres and full guards, great for smoothing out my crappy local backroads.

If I’ve heard wrong about the Fred Whitton so be it

but I still don’t get why in a world of 10 speed cassettes and compact chain sets any one would advise against having the gears you need

Its like some one saying should i buy a fully rigis bike and me saying I road down hill in agony for years you don’t need suspension. Possible and desirebale aren’t the same thing

I’d say it was worth trying the Defy. I hadn’t ridden a road bike since my old Sun was nicked back in the early 80’s. I test rode a few but none of them really grabbed me. Then I saw a Defy tucked in the corner of the shop, and ‘cos it was black and looked nice I asked if I could try it. I felt instantly at home on it, bought it, and haven’t regretted my decision.

Run whatever you think will work. I normally spin so find a high cadence and low gear is best for me. I run a compact with a 27 on the back. While I hate to say it because it is not a race (I was actually a bit disappointed with the time) I was in the top 20 fastest finishers in the last sportive I did so it obviously didn’t hold me up. But if you prefer to grind a big gear then fine do that. I would rather have low gears I didn’t use than want for them on a climb. There is no right or wrong answer to this it is about personal preference – pro riders are the same. I know wiggins turns a high cadence and I hear he does pretty well in bike races.

As to the bike, again it is probably more about comfort than anything else. My Cayo is lovely, I race on it and I can do 200km rides on it, but I’m used to it and the riding position. You’ll be fine on a cross bike, it may be more suited if you don’t fancy a full on road bike as it will be more versatile allowing you fast off road rides and fat tyres for winter on the road.

Buy something comfortable, the CAAD frames are always well reviewed. You’l need to sit on them if you are not confident, ideally ride them.

but I still don’t get why in a world of 10 speed cassettes and compact chain sets any one would advise against having the gears you need

It is not about getting gears you don’t need, it is about not giving up and assuming you can’t do things and making sure what you have works most of the time. I would not try the Fred Whitton on my current gears, i have an idea of what i can and can’t do, but by the same token i know i can do far more than i think i can. But most of my riding can be done on the gears i have so why would i bother having gears i don’t use? I don’t need a 34x32on my road bike so to have it would be pointless.

A light race bike with 53-39 and 11-23 feels ace on fairly flat roads for a few hours. ime 10 hour days in the Alps back to back feel a lot better on a slightly less fidgety handling bike (especially at speed downhill) with a 50-34 and 12-28. Bail-out gears are good.
Hilly century+ sportives fall somewhere in between, I have a really light steel road bike with the same front end geo as the Equilibrium on a compact and 12-25 for most of my road riding. I don’t race but I do like to crack on when I’m on the road, no fun otherwise )

To me a sportive bike just needs to be light and comfortable, if you’re comfortable for 7-8 hours you’ll perform better. Straining high gears isn’t adding to anyone’s comfort and some stage-race bikes are slacker than std race bikes at 72.5 deg.
If you’re averagely ok out of the saddle climbing, a compact and a 28 will get you up most roads. A 32 is for the real beasts when you’re properly done in, you may struggle to steer straight by then as you’ll be going pretty slow unless you spin high revs.

Thanks for all your advice – all noted.

Although the Synapse feels snappy and fun I was thinking that I might be better off with the slower handling bike like the Genesis.

But then again I like the hill climbing and doubt that I will hurtle down the other side for fear of accident – and the road surfaces on the Bealach are poor enough that they have a history of some bad accidents on the downs.

I prefer to spin than grind – so maybe I will have a look at the Apex bike and see if I like the shifting and apparently some people find the hoods uncomfortable. Otherwise I will look at the Shimano 105 options to accommodate higher gears.

When riding at home I would be doing a loop round the Ranmore/Holmwood/Leith Hill bit as there are several 20%+ hills you could string together – but probably only during the winterish months when the mtbing wasn’t so good – grinding my way through chainsets is something I prefer not to do anymore.

MrSmith – Member
Jesus 39/23 up a 25% hill, can I buy your legs please??

it’s no biggie for any reasonably fit cyclist

Sod off. I’d class my self as a reasonably fit cyclist and I literally don’t think I could turn that gear over on a 25% hill (unless I had a good fast run up, and it was very short). I’d just be standing on the pedal and not move anywhere!

Plus, if it’s no biggie, why do all the pros ride lower gears than than for super steep climbs like the angrilu/zoncolan?

Anyway – TurnerGuy: go for gearing that you think is sensible and ignore all the macho bolox about ratios. If you don’t need the bottom gear you’ve got very often, you don’t have to use it.

Sod off. I’d class my self as a reasonably fit cyclist and I literally don’t think I could turn that gear over on a 25% hill (unless I had a good fast run up, and it was very short). I’d just be standing on the pedal and not move anywhere!

It really isn’t that hard, you just have to believe.

minor detail, the Pros don’t gear down much until your talking big climbs, the sort of climbs that are very rare/don’t exist in the UK, how many 25% climbs are there in the UK that last for more than a few tens of metres? and how many 25% climbs are sustained at that sort of gradient? Can you show me a climb in the UK that matches the gradient and the length of the Zoncolan?

I can cope for a while, but i know that for a long sustained climb at that sort of gradient then i am going to need lower gears than i have, but i only have one or two climbs in the area that meet those conditions.

Back to the point, most bikes come with gears that are fine most of the time, in all likelihood you will be fine with what comes on the bike and so changing for the sake of it won’t achieve anything. But the only way to find out if you need lower gears is to ride the bike and find out.

Apparently almost everyone walks up the hills on the Fred Whitton. That means almost everyone has the wrong gears IMHO

They’re just weighed down by to much flap jack and sandwiches.

My equilibrium got me round the fred whitton in 7 odd hours without much fuss, I cycled up all the hills on it aswell!

I did use gears off my grans bike though – 34/28. A great ratio for overtaking all the hard lads pushing a 39/23.

The genesis also goes down hills really well so you can relax going down the other side of wrynose.

Ideal bike, but the full builds are a bit ropey.

I have the cayo and I am chuckling at the not suitable for a sportive remark. Its stiff in a good way (fnar fnar) I’ve done races, sprotives and multiple 140+miles days on mine with no dramas. But it’s all down to personal preference.

I have the cayo and I am chuckling at the not suitable for a sportive remark.

maybe I will try it again – the saddle on the stock bike was awful so perhaps I will take a flite with me.

Ideal bike, but the full builds are a bit ropey.

I noticed that – ages ago I costed up building one from a frameset but then I rode one and lost a little interest and did a sportive on my HT.

If I were to upgrade the wheelset from scratch would a Hope Pro3/Open Pro set be a good choice over the standard Mavic Ksyrium choice?

Given the weather at moment (as given the poor weather is with for a while and it will sonn be winter) I would get a bike that can take full length frame fitted mudguards and wider tyres. Also go to a shop that will let you spec the bike how you want it without having to buy it complete and then spend more and having more bits than you need.

I do that with the Tifosi’s I sell. In fact they an be ordered by the shop without the bits the customer does not want so the parts the customer want an then be fitted. A much cheaper way of getting a build right for you.

Also consider what tyres you need often new bikes are not equipped with waht you actually need.

I have the cayo and I am chuckling at the not suitable for a sportive remark.
maybe I will try it again – the saddle on the stock bike was awful so perhaps I will take a flite with me

love the saddle on mine! thing is when you are trying bikes little things can make such a big difference. Even the choice of tyre size and pressure cna mean a ride feels harsh or not.

FWIW I also tend to spin rather than grind. I checked the times from a sportive I did a few years ago which involved a timed hill climb at the end & I finished the climb in the top 25% of times. The people I overtook were all grinding in an unfeasibly high gear IIRC. So that (kind of) places my ability. There is no way I would be able to climb a 22% hill using 39/23. I either use 34/26 or 39/29. I certainly wouldn’t consider riding up Bealach-na-Ba with any higher gearing. I don’t think you will ever end up worrying about having an undergeared bike at the end of that particular ride.

I noticed that – ages ago I costed up building one from a frameset but then I rode one and lost a little interest and did a sportive on my HT.

If I were to upgrade the wheelset from scratch would a Hope Pro3/Open Pro set be a good choice over the standard Mavic Ksyrium choice?

I dont know what wheelset comes as standard on them, but its not Ksyriums.

I just built mine up from scratch, £240 for the frame is a bargain. I didnt get the carbon forks though, just got some cheap £30 steel things from SJS. Could do with putting carbon ones on but cant really be bothered.

SRAM Rival gears, Zipp service course SL bits, hope pro 3/velocity aerohead wheels and some conti gp4000s tyres. Its not as light as the carbon bikes Ive had but it rides really well. Never feel it holding me back uphills but I imagine if I got on a lightweight bike again I would notice the difference.

DT we almost have clone bikes!

So I rode a 56cm Equilibrium today and a 54cm CAAD8 – the CAAD8 was quite nice but the zingy Equilibrium was better, more like my steel Wanga with slicks and titanium seatpost that I rode the last sportive on.

Although it contrasts with the Genesis size chart I think the 56 was a little big for me – at 5ft 10 – and a 54 might suit better.

With the 56 my comfortable reach to the drops was prior to the hoods where I didn’t have the best grip over the brake/shifters.

If I reached forward to the hoods I was more prone than I would like to be – and shortening the stem to fit might be 3 cm or so.

Now the trouble is finding somewhere with a 54 to try – Evans only have one in Bath – and the 56s that were on Evans site the other day now aren’t either.

I might take a punt and see if I can order a 54 frame and build it up – which will make for a better level of kit than the retail version anyway.

And then I can get some Hope hubs so all three of my bikes make a nice clicky noise when freewheeling 🙂

What size Equilibriums are those above versus your sizes?

And then I can get some Hope hubs so all three of my bikes make a nice clicky noise when freewheeling

hmm….. not sure that is a good thing, it sounds nice, but loud free hubs on road bikes, it your not careful they seem incredibly loud, there is less noise so all you hear is the free hub.

You also loose that element of stealth when overtaking people, that might just be me though,

I’m 6’2″ and mine is a 58.

FWIW, I sold my hope hubbed road wheels as they do get really annoying after a few hours in the saddle. Still cant see past Planet x model B for the cash.

My audax bike has an mtb chainset and an 11/27 cassette its lovely having bail out gears when knackeredat the end of a hard ride .It also gets used for towing a trailer or lugging panniers around (thats my excuse and im sticking to it)

What size Equilibrium…versus your sizes?

6’2″ – riding a 60cm – but i’ve got very long legs.

i also have a 27tooth cheating-sprocket*, but i ride up big, steep, hills, with only my scrawny little legs to help me.

(*i accept that this means i’m a total failure as a man, and a human being)

ok, maybe not hope hubs then…

DT we almost have clone bikes!

Gotta admit, saw a picture of yours and thought it looked bob on so decided to build one up myself.

6’2″ and a bit on a 58 btw.

im 5′ 10” with a 32” leg, i ride a 54cm.
most of the bikes ive ridden in a 56 have felt a little too long in the top tube for me.
regarding gearing, ive tried many options on road and mtb bikes over the years and ive noticed that on a road bike you can spin a ratio that would have you struggling on even the lightest slicked up mtb, so you may not need to go as low as you think.